Good example of Fuller's "tabloid" filmmaking style, displaying the contradictory politics and pugnacious visual style that earned him the label "American primitive."
A self-serving reporter (Breck) has himself confined to an asylum so he can uncover a murder and win a Pulitzer Prize. He is sucked into the maelstrom of the asylum, which is presented as a microcosm of contemporary society, and eventually loses his mind. Fuller plays cinematic bully here,
forcefully confronting us with unpleasant characters and situations in a way that makes us rethink our preconceptions about insanity and civilization. The bravura camerawork, by Stanley Cortez, is a marvel. Original release prints included some color sequences the director had shot in Japan and
Africa as early as 1955. Fuller followed this piece with what was probably one of his best works, THE NAKED KISS. leave a comment
